April 2, 2020

High School Big Bang | Recap and Review

High School Big Bang
A new teacher, who’s like a gangster, is here to guide her students to a bright future.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Chen Yi Xin: Mo Mo
Lu Dong Xu: Wu Wen
Chinese Title
我成了他的班主任
NetworkSohu
Year2020
Episodes: 15
First Impression: 4/5

Jump to Review

Mini Recaps

[Ep1]  It's Mo Mo's first day at work. You would think she's a gangster, but she's actually a teacher. With her gangster like friends, they scare off her future students in hopes of correcting their rebellious behaviours.
A courageous fellow student thinks Mo Mo is a student just like him and protects her from men who he thinks are real gangsters. His heroic moment is pretty cool. He's Wu Wen. These two are late for day one and he tries to help her sneak in through the back. They get caught. Wu Wen manages to sneak away. Meanwhile she doesn't make a very good impression but she gets hired anyways. She's assigned to the problematic Class 11
It's all thanks to Feng Bai who recommended her. She doesn't know yet. Everyone thinks he's just a school physician but he's got a dual identity as the school director. He's also her first love (and current crush). They made a promise to meet each other ten years later in their successful career. To this day she's still wearing the necklace he gave her while he still has her hair tie. However, Mo Mo doesn't know he's kept it with him all along.

Class 11 Delinquents 
Wei Wei: Video game master. His penalty: missed too many classes.
Zhang Chen: Basketball master. His penalty: too violent
Zhou Ri: Quick feet. His penalty: too quick (narrator says that he's too rowdy that all the classroom's ceilings have his footprints on them).
Luo Ming Xuan: Money addict. His penalty: falsifying homework.
Yu Xiao Xing: Pretty face, pretty voice, pretty personality. Weakness: Lack of presence
Li Fei: Heroic Beauty Goddess (athena?). Weakness: Temper.
Wu Wen: (left): A genius hacker (and the courageous hero who saved Mo Mo earlier).
Qi Bai (right): Sleeping master (also our narrator). His penality: slept through a test
First day of class hasn't even started but Mo Mo (teacher) is embroiled in a flee with her student, Wu Wen who is almost caught hacking into the school system. Alas, the fun begins for Class 11.
[Ep2Xia Zi Ning is a not a Class 11 student. She purposely destroys the most expensive looking thing in the classroom to be penalized but her oh so good classmate blames it on one of the delinquents in Class 11 (Wu Wen). All of the teachers quickly discriminate against Wu Wen, leaving Xia Zi Ning penalty free. The unfair treatment towards her students arouses Mo Mo's golden heart of justice. To set the record straight, she transfers Xia Zi Ning to her Class 11.
Feng Bai is a huge supporter of Mo Mo. It's obvious he likes her, I just hope it's obvious to her as well. He'd take her drink for her not letting her be drunk in front of other men. He also saves her from a flying water hose. Simultaneously, I'm intrigued about the relationship between Mo Mo and Wu Wen. They might be siblings who have been separated for a decade for reasons unknown. Cool. I'm looking forward to their relationship. I want him to be her trusty helper in the classroom.

[Ep3] Class 11 name plate gets crossed out and becomes Class X. In Chinese "X" pinyin is "cha" which sounds like "bad". The class is upset that they're being made fun and called the "Bad Class". Mo Mo encourages the class that it doesn't matter their name plate is graffitied over. What matters is how to change other's bad perception of them. This change begins within themselves.
It's exam time and Mo Mo begs her students to not cheat otherwise she'll have to run 100 laps. Rather to say she believes in her students, she believes in herself to catch every student before they cheat. In other words she doesn't believe her students either. Not that her students are (currently) worth believing. Never have I seen a class have such synergy than this one when it comes to collaborating to cheat. However, it's practically impossible for Class 11 to cheat under Mo Mo's supernatural supervision. Only one student is exempt from these strict guidelines: Xia Zi Ning. She's the school's pride so therefore she is incapable of cheating. Except she does cheat, not because she needs to, she just wants to be penalized for whatever reason. However, she doesn't get caught no matter what she does. Instead it's always Wu Wen who gets accidentally blamed for her faults. She bugs and nags and threatens Wu Wen to help her get penalized. Wu Wen is beyond speechless and doesn't know what to do with her.
Wu Wen takes the blame for cheating thinking he was shielding his buddy, Qi Bai. Wu Wen is a good kid and Mo Mo knows it. However, because her class did cheat, she has to run her 100 laps. I was expecting the class to be touched because that's what happens in all dramas. But nope. The class joins her in her lap to laugh at her. Ha. I wasn't expecting that.

[Ep4] Her scheme to get her students sentimental are foiled. Only Feng Bai sweetly runs with her and even blocks the sun for her.
This is an episode for me to pity Wu Wen. Such a good kid doesn't deserve this. Wu Wen's dad locks him out of his own home because he wants to spend time with his girlfriend. His father doesn't care about him so much that he finds a substitute for his dad whenever there's a parent-teacher meeting. He tries to help Qi Bai when his dad scolds him for his failed exams but in the process of helping, Wu Wen ends up being injured. Qi Bai's dad gets so frustrated, he yells at him along the lines of "you may not have parents to scold you, but my son does." Ouch. A lonely Wu Wen walks in the rain with no one to care about him and no place to go. Luckily Mo Mo finds him. She touches his face (which is red from tears) and angrily demands who did this to him. Thank god he has a sister who takes him home. He knows her identity now too. However, there seems to be some misunderstanding on his part. He thinks she abandoned him so he refuses to acknowledge his sister. The sibling's backstory: these two were separated at a very young age because of their parent's divorce. He went to the care of his father and she to her mother.
[Ep5] Mission: Fix Qi Bai's deadly sleeping disease. Mo Mo promises Qi Bai's dad that she'll cure him of this disease in three days. However, it's easier said than done. She enlists the help of the unwilling Wu Wen who then enlists the help of Xia Zi Ning. He convinces her that if she were to play small pranks on Qi Bai to wake him up during class she could get her penalty points. Except all efforts go to waste, Qi Bai's disease is just too deadly and the teachers don't believe their good student Xia Zi Ning is capable of playing pranks. The only doctor here, Feng Bai, knows just how to cure it. They fool him that his sleepiness is an actual disease that can be cured with medication. Qi Bai believes it and the placebo effect works: he's cured. However, it's only a temporary fix. The real source of Qi Bai's sleepiness is related to his dad's physical abuse.

Loving the siblings who are unwilling to reconcile. I like it even more than the romance. Mo Mo reminisces the time she fooled her kid brother. Wu Wen, who's listening to her sister proudly recall that situation, humphs and puffs. Heh.

[Ep6] Nevermind. The source of Qi Bai's hypersomnia isn't his dad, it's himself. He knows his dad works hard to support the family but his marks just can't reach his expectations. The academic stress has made him avoid school hence why he oversleeps. When Dad saw all the bruises and needle marks Qi Bai had subjected himself to make himself wake up, his heart breaks for his son. The father and son reconcile and that's the medicine that Qi Bai needed.
Wu Wen is like a little devil to his sister, heh. Ruining her confession plans and annoying her like hell. He's got no place to go and the only place he can think of is his sister's.
Wu Wen is afraid of the dark and this fear stems from when he was a child. Mo Mo did abandon him. She promised to play hide and seek with him so that she can leave him while he was hiding.
[Ep7] Wu Wen is scared of the dark and can't sleep alone when their home's electricity short circuits. He grabs onto Mo Mo's hand not letting her leave. And so she stays. While she's working on tomorrow's class content, he’s sleeping next to her. Aw. However, he's still the annoying brother. He uses Xia Zi Ning to make her class difficult. He's also constantly ruining her love confession to Feng Bai. However, behind the annoyance, their's love. After seeing how hard his sister is working overnight to prepare for class, he convinces Xia Zi Ning to stop bugging her sister. He also doesn't think Feng Bai is worthy of his sister. Aww. But the guy is the school director and has a medical degree! On top of that, he's caring beyond words. As his brother wished, Mo Mo's confessions fails. Not because of Wu Wen's constant phone call of death, but from Feng Bai's caller who's ID is "女王大人" which means something along the lines of "Queen". If you think it’s his mother, it’s not.

I love the scene where Mo Mo chases Wu Wen around after he victoriously ruins her date. She tells him "Don't worry, I won't hit you to your death" but just let me hit you. Heh.

[Ep8] It's an episode about Wei Wei (the video game master). I was wondering when I was going to get to know more about the students. We're already halfway into the drama. He made it into professional gaming and wants to quit school. Mo Mo is supportive of Wei Wei because she can tell he's serious about chasing his dream. However, her decision has led to her suspension. There's one good thing: she's won the support of her entire class as they barge into the principal's office to protect their lovable teacher. But that doesn't change the fact that she's suspended.
The crying scene made me smile from ear to ear. It's not from her facial expression but from Wu Wen's reactions. He didn't know she was crying for real (me neither). I love these siblings more than the romance.
Mo Mo and Feng Bai almost kiss with Wu Wen right in the kitchen.
[Ep9] And so two big men end up going to the convenience store to pick up pads for her. Wu Wen pretends to not know his sister is in pain because of her period but Feng Bai forces him to buy it together. Hehe. Jokes aside, Wu Wen confronts Feng Bai to not hurt Mo Mo. However, Feng Bai’s sincerity towards Mo Mo doesn’t get through to Wu Wen, the romantic knucklehead.

Mo Mo and her Class 11 gather to support Wei Wei and his professional gaming career. She organizes a match with a professional team against her class with Wei Wei as the coach and team leader. It's all to show his father the career his son had chose. Meanwhile they're training for the video game, Mo Mo doesn't forget to help her class review for the upcoming exam (with the help of her smart students: Li Fei and Xia Zi Ning). Not surprisingly, the match is lost but dad is won over.  Is it enough to lift Mo Mo’s suspension? We don't know yet but a new character appears. It's Feng Bai's "Queen".

[Ep10] Feng Bai's Queen is the school director as well as his aunt. She's not that useful though because it's mostly Wei Wei's heartfelt speech about his dream that convinces his mom. With Wei Wei's chapter done, we go back to Xia Zi Ning.

[Ep11] XZN still wants her penalty points. She uses Wu Wen as her love target because highschoolers are not allowed to date. There's some chemistry sparkling between them but Wu Wen realizes he's being used. He finally learns her motive. She wants to be penalized to avoid going to school abroad that way she can stay with her grandmother in China.
Aww I'm happy Wu Wen has a real family now to celebrate his birthday. Even if the cake falls to the ground they can still find happiness.
And the cat is finally out of the bag. Mo Mo tells Feng Bai about her brother. Feng Bai confesses with the hair tie she gave him ten years ago.

[Ep12] Except the hair tie snaps. It's okay though! They no longer need that kind of stuff because they have each other. Or that was the beginning of the episode. Everything goes downhill for this couple after rumours of Mo Mo and Wu Wen circulate. She gets called in by the school board directors and that’s where she learns her first shocker: Feng Bai is one of the school directors. And then the bomb drops when she learns he's the one who created Class 11. She's disappointed in him the most for discriminating against students and walks out before he can explain.

[Ep13] Alright, so dad was just a senseless idiot. He didn't mean to hurt anyone, he' just a selfish jerk. That's all. After dad learns how his irresponsible actions have affected his children he promises to change. The first thing he does is clear his son's potential suspension (for bringing in a fake father). After that, he's practically moved into the home too. Other than being called "dad", he's nothing like one, he's so obedient in front of his children. Heh.

Xia Zi Ning has learned how to hack in lightening speed. Her next mission: hack the school for exam material. After Wu Wen realizes her intentions, his entire family dispatches to help her. Mo Mo rushes to her home in the middle of the night but she’s not home. Dad and Wu Wen run like thieves around the school looking for her. WW finds her and she receives a call from the hospital. WW takes her on the motorcycle. They end up being chased by a sleuth of police officers because of a break malfunction. Completely off topic. I remember there was this popular short viral story about a guy and girl on a motorcycle and then the break malfunctions but he doesn't tell her. He does tell her to take his helmet and to tell him to most romantic things so he can die with no regret while saving her. I'm just surprised how this one break malfunction scene here makes me remember this entire story even though I read it probably ten years ago. I've digressed. Don't worry, the drama doesn't take this route.

[Ep14] Except the police officers aren't actually chasing them. They're opening the traffic (LOL) to allow WW and XZN to visit her grandmother who's in critical condition. There's a hint of romance between these two. However, it doesn't change the fact that WW has violated traffic bylaws and now he's got his third school penalty point. Both WW and MM are suspended from school. XZN is penalized too. She achieved what she wanted but isn't one bit happy.

Mo Mo is still upset at Feng Bai for lying to her and establishing Class 11. She throws her necklace at him and inside she finds these words engraved: "We're all lonely until we find that right person." She's still not impressed but right when she was about to leave, he grabs her hand and she spins into his arms for him to kiss her sweetly. Until dad and Wu Wen walk in. Dad is the next obstacle he has to pass but Dad isn't much of one because he accepts Feng Bai as his son-in-law immediately. Dad is nothing like Wu Wen when it comes to protecting Mo Mo, lol. Mo Mo also accepts him as her boyfriend. Wu Wen has no right to refuse him anymore, heh.

[Ep15] We still haven't solved XZN's problems. Her parents have returned. She's forced to transfer schools. The entire class is dispatched to her home. They somehow rent a sleuth of condos across her window so they can create words with the room lights: "回來8" (which means "come back"). They also control a drone to show her a video clip of her grandmother. With what money...? Her parents finally learn of XZN's intentions and allows her to return. If she was just honest from the very beginning... then again we wouldn't have a drama.

One year later, it's the last day of school. Li Fei is recording the video (much like how the drama first started). Wei Wei drops by and the class is finally complete. Everyone's talking about their future dream. Wu Wen's makes me smile: he wants to be a teacher, a teacher who's better than Mo Mo. With all their dreams written down they put it in a time capsule and dig the school ground to bury it secretly. I don't know how they had wanted to do it inconspicuously when there's at least 20 bodies surrounding a single tree. As expected, they're caught and the entire class is on the run again. The end.

Remarks


[First Impression (Ep1-4)]: I really like this. It's fun to watch and I'm expecting to feel gratification as I watch each student get converted by Mo Mo, especially Wu Wen. The romance is also sweet and light but it's not the focus. Initially, Mo Mo and Feng Bai were cute but they're pretty much set in stone. There's another brewing couple: Wu Wen and Xia Zi Ning. They're funny. Or she's more of an oddball. This is the type of drama I love to talk about. Lots to dissect with each student and their motives with an overall arching moral. Feels like a good old Jdrama. They're all new faces to me but the acting is on par, especially the actors for Mo Mo and Wu Wen.

[Names]: Phonetically, when Mo Mo and Wu Wen's names are put together it forms a Chinese idiom: to stay "obscure and unknown. The direct translation would be along the lines of "Silently without a scent."

[Review]: The drama is cute. I said it reminded me of GTO but it's not quite that level of student interaction. Not that much to dissect as I had initially hoped for. It focused on four students only plus dashes of romances. The main relationship that grappled me was the family one. It's a light drama that's satisfying to watch. 

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